Don't Look Now

We discuss the history of the Heaven's Gate cult that burst into the national consciousness in 1997 after a mass suicide of its members in the belief that they would spiritually join an alien spaceship they were sure was hidden in the tail of the Hale-Bopp comet.

Plato famously mentions the lost civilization of Atlantis which was a naval power that was supposedly defeated by Athens, long before his day, which was eventually plunged into the sea by the gods as punishment for their hubris.  The idea of Atlantis has stayed with popular culture for thousands of years, but is it just a made up nation for an allegory, or was it in any way based on fact?  We discuss the possibilities in today's episode.

Myths of dragons and dragon-like creatures exist in cultures around the world.  How do dragons differ around the world?  How are they similar?  What would lead just about all cultures to create myths with these creatures?  Come listen and possibly find out.

The Bell Witch is a long time legend of the American South.  From 1817 to 1821 a supernatural entity is said to have hounded the family of John Bell, a local farmer, leading to his death.  The tale became so famous that Andrew Jackson is said to have stayed in the Bell home for a night in order to investigate.  Was the witch a supernatural phenomenon or the culmination of tensions and abuse in the family?  Take a listen and see what you think.

The Holy Grail is the name given to the cup from which Jesus drank at the last supper, mythically imbued with magical healing and restorative power.  Where did this concept come from?  Where does myth tell us the grail can be found?  Take a listen and find out more lest you be taunted a second time.

We discuss one of the oldest cryptids in the United States, the Jersey Devil of the pine barrens of the Garden State.  First discussed close to 300 years ago, join us for a discussion of the origins of the devil (spoiler: the most likely scenario involves a well known founding father), and sightings of it that lead up to the present day.

The legend of King Arthur has been around for well over a thousand years.  How did the stories first come to be and how did the modern version of Arthur, Camelot, and the quest for the Holy Grail grow out of them.  Was there ever a real Arthur that the stories were based on?  Take a listen and find out!

Who stood 4'11", had two thumbs, and "discovered" Florida?  Juan Ponce de Leon, that's who.  We discuss the history of the world's most famous ponce and how he came to find Florida and if he really was searching for the fountain of youth at the time.

The Ideal Maternity Home was operated in Nova Scotia from 1928-1947 by Lila and William Young.  The home served as a place for unwed mothers to give birth to their children outside the view of a disapproving society.  It also had a much darker side: illegal adoptions without material consent or knowledge, disposal of "non-perfect" babies, indentured servitude, and horrible treatment of both mothers and children.  

Roughly 11,000 years ago human beings began living in settlements and forming larger social groups due to the revolution that was the development of agriculture.  Where did it all start?  Did it spread from a single source or develop in parallel across the globe?  What were the first foods that people intentionally grew?  Come check in out in this week's episode.

The TV reality/mystery/true crime series Unsolved Mysteries has run for 15 seasons across multiple networks and streaming services.  Come learn the origins of the show and some of the mysteries that were solved due to its impact.

On today's podcast we discuss the history of happiness.  How have both the definition of and search for happiness changed through history?  How has it become one of our most primary drivers in decision making when a few hundred years ago it was rarely a consideration.  Come take a listen and learn about the pursuit of happiness.  

Feral children have appeared throughout history in cultures around the world.  We discuss some famous cases of children literally raised by wolves, or monkeys, or just terrible parents.

On Christmas Eve 1945 tragedy struck the Sodder family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia.  Fire swept through the home in the wee hours of the night and the house burnt to the ground in just 45 mins.  The parents and four of nine children made it outside, five of the youngest perished in the fire... or did they?  No remains were ever found and there were sightings of the children after the fire.  Was it simply a tragedy, or was the fire simply set to cover up their kidnapping?  Take a listen and decide for yourself.

Most people have heard of the old west outlaw, Jessie James.  However, how much do you really know about him?  Take a listen and learn about the wild west Robin Hood.

The Beale Papers were a text published in 1885 that contained three ciphers that supposedly relay the location, content, and ownership of a treasure hidden in the mountains of Virginia.  Over the years only one cipher has been decoded through the use of the Declaration of Independence as a book key.  This cipher noted the content of the treasure.  However, no one has successfully decoded either of the other two which most importantly denote the treasure's location.  Is the treasure real?  Are the ciphers just a hoax that continues to live on?  Take a listen and find out about the Beale Treasure. 

In the tradition of one of our favorite childhood books, Haunted Heartland, come tales of creepiness and hauntings from around the globe.  Creepy dolls in Mexico, a deceased thespian in Australia, and a haunted tavern in the US to name a few.  Pull up a chair and listen to some wide ranging ghost stories. 

There are local legends across the globe and across cultures about locations that are gateways to hell.  We discuss some examples including a local legend familiar to people in NW Kansas.

We discuss the strange case of the disappearance of Zebb Qinn, a teenager from Ashville, NC that mysteriously disappeared in 2000 after leaving work with a co-worker to go look at a used car for sale.  Quinn's car was found four days later, parked with the headlights on, with drawings in lipstick on the back window, and various items not belonging to him inside it, most notably a Labrador puppy that was later adopted by a policeman. 17 years after his disappearance, the co-worker he left with, Robert Jason Owens, was arrested for his murder and now awaits trial.  

We discuss one of the highly overlooked physical measurement devices, the humble pendulum.  Used for everything from telling time, to defining the length of a meter, determining the gravity of the earth, and serving as a horrific torture device in Edgar Allen Poe's fiction, the pendulum has a long and proud history.  Come check it out.